New Airports of India

I liked the Hyderabad International Airport the moment I landed. It was well-designed, very clean, and delivered the passengers straight from the plane into the airport. The baggage delivery was similar to Western airports – quick and efficient. I thought there was a space constraint though, there was not much space on the domestic side of the airport. May be I had not seen the entire area, but I thought the walk from the baggage delivery point to the exit point was rather short – maybe no more than 50 metres or so. I think they should expand if this is the case, as the flight coverage of Hyderabad will continue to expand and passengers will pour in eventually, though there was not much crowd at 4:30 PM on a weekday when I arrived.

The reach from the exit point to the road was well laid out, and one can quickly get into either a taxi or one’s own transport, but again the road was not wide enough in my opinion. We should always plan for the millions, not the thousands !

Overall, the Hyderabad Airport impresses all with its clean-cut looks, efficient layout, and quick passenger clearance. I haven’t seen the international side, but guess it should be good (one dreads to even think of the Mumbai International side of the airport, which is horrible to say the least). The security checks were good at the Hyderabad Airport, a thorough ID check is done at the entrance, and then the security frisking was also thorough. Well, it is for our own safety.

The Bengaluru International Airport, which I visited only recently, also provides a good experience, though it is more crowded. It has a more expansive look than Hyderabad, but I believe both airports are world-class and capable of massive expansion over the next decade or so as the traffic increases. The gates at the Bengaluru Airport are not as well laid out as in the Hyderabad Airport though, there is some confusion and resulting congestion. More space is taken up for retail at the Bengaluru Airport, and so there were no airline lounges. One distinctive feature of the Bengaluru Airport is the resort style access corridors when one comes out of the airport and looks around. It is also characterised by convenient air-conditioned Volvo buses for transportation to the city at reasonable prices – for city centre, one pays only Rs 125, as compared to around Rs 500 – 600 by metred taxi.

With these two airports, India has finally arrived at reaching an international standard in building greenfield airports. These would now form the benchmarks for the future construction of an expected dozen or so airports in the near future. Delhi and Mumbai are stuck in the past, though the Mumbai Domestic Airport has vastly improved over the past couple of years. My recent experience at the international airport in Mumbai was, however, dreadful to say the least. In the name of increased security, the security agencies have cordoned off the entrance points to the airport completely, allowing only a single file of cars – from where the passengers would alight is a mystery, and how would one get the car back up on the side of the departure gates after seeing the passenger off is again a big question mark. A big inconvenience to family and friends at the Mumbai International Airport, where thousands of people come everyday to see off their friends and relatives. There should be a better design of the airport.

Well, that is it for the weekend.
Have a great week ahead, folks !

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
11th Jan 2009
Mumbai